Turning the Heat Up on Gas Chromatography: How to Successfully Perform High Temperature GC Applications Without Breaking a Sweat

High temperature Gas Chromatography applications using fused silica columns can be problematic for applications that run above 360°C. Even if a phase is stable enough to maintain extended periods of time above 360°C, the polyimide coating on fused silica will eventually burn off, causing the column to become brittle. We will examine what affect temperatures above 360°C will have on the integrity of the column phase and brittleness of the column over extended periods of time.

We will also look into strategies for more efficient and successful high temperature applications, such as utilizing metal columns, and how long they are able to operate at temperatures up to 450°C and still maintain their integrity. We will also discuss how selection of the right consumables and maintaining a leak free system is especially important in high temperature GC applications, and how to pick the right ones to have a successful and robust GC analysis.

Presenter: Vanessa Abercrombie (Application Engineer, Agilent Technologies, Inc.)

Vanessa Abercrombie is GC Applications Chemist at Agilent Technologies in Folsom, CA. Vanessa has a broad background in GC and GC/MS, including experience as an instrument chemist at Bode Technology in Virginia working under contract to the FBI’s Laboratory Division. Prior to that, Vanessa worked for ETS Labs in St. Helena, CA as an Analytical Chemist where she researched and developed quantitative separations by GC/MS and UHPLC for beer, wine and spirits. She holds a Masters of Forensic Science from The George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from Sonoma State University.